Our government, which is getting bigger and bigger, is continually trying to take away the rights of us citizens. Being consistent, the government has taken hold of several industries over the last few years to no benefit, and is now set its sights on the supplement industry. The FDA, a sheep in wolves clothing, is claiming they’re interest in taking over the supplement industry is public safety. However, government statistics show that supplements are basically benign, especially when compared to prescription drugs. Not to mention the outstanding natural health benefits associated with supplement intake.

If the government gets their way, they and the pharmaceutical industry know the supplement industry companies won’t be able to afford the FDA’s drug trial process. Most supplement companies will go out of business if supplements, which includes vitamins, are treated as drugs under the new regulations; drug companies like Merk, Pfizer and others will step in and take over.

Drug companies are not in the business of building health. It is in their best interest to have as many unhealthy people as possible. Its so important that big pharma spends more money on ads than it does on research (twice as much). It’s a marketing driven industry, trying to convince people they have an affliction and the drug companies have the answer.

Is it any wonder why there have been so many drug recalls associated with so many deaths. Perhaps if big pharma spent more on research, and the FDA did their job, many people wouldn’t have lost their lives needlessly. And this is who we’re supposed to put our trust in running our supplement industry?

Taken from Mercola.com:

Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2011, introduced at the end of June by U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) is trying to treat vitamins as if they are drugs, allegedly to “improve the safety of dietary supplements,” which implies that supplements must be a major safety hazard to begin with. Durbin’s bill goes hand-in-hand with new FDA regulations that amend the definitions for new dietary ingredients (NDI’s), and together, they can threaten your health and freedom of choice, and further serve to strengthen the fatally flawed paradigm of health and medicine.

In 2001, 84.6 percent of all substances implicated in fatal poisonings were pharmaceutical drugs, according to that year’s American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) report. This compares with 0.8 percent for all dietary supplements combined, even including substances such as dinitrophenol, a dangerous (and illegal) substance banned in 1938, as well as the central nervous system stimulant Ma Huang (Ephedra). ONE drug alone, the anti-asthma drug theophylline, which was responsible for 15 deaths that year, amounted to 66 percent more than all the available dietary supplements combined.

According to CDC mortality data for 2005, prescription drugs killed more than 33,500 people that year, second only to car accidents. That same year, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 27 deaths that were associated with dietary supplements

Legal DRUGS are killing massive numbers of people, not vitamins and supplements. Unfortunately, one reason for all these drug deaths could be the lax way the FDA “regulates” the drug industry by not requiring that all serious events in a trial be made public:

“When a clinical trial that is undertaken by drug companies shows that a drug has serious side effects, there is no law that says that study has to be published or made public in any way,” Dr. Dean says in her book.

Vioxx is a perfect example of a product that was approved without having published all the clinical studies where serious events that resulted in the deaths of over 60,000 people were discovered.

What’s obvious is that the number of people taking supplements and vitamins is continuously growing. It’s a $60-billion-a-year industry, and the drug industry wants a piece of that pie, as evidenced by drug giant Pfizer, which recently announced that it’s going into the supplement business to counter some of the losses from its blockbusters that are soon going off-patent. The FDA is apparently on-track to protect its client’s vitamin and supplement interests by proposing the new policy it slipped in just before July 4.

Americans spend more than $40 billion a year on diets and diet related products. A large percentage of the money spent is on diet pills or “weight loss supplements.” With so much money spent on weight loss supplements, one would think that America would be on the skinny side. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Here are the facts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

•Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 34% (2007-2008)
•Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are overweight (and not obese): 34% (2007-2008)
•Percent of adolescents age 12-19 years who are obese: 18% (2007-2008)
•Percent of children age 6-11 years who are obese: 20% (2007-2008)
•Percent of children age 2-5 years who are obese: 10% (2007-2008)

Although most weight loss supplements and other diet products don’t work long-term, consumers still buy them in hopes of finding a quick fix or the one magic pill that will finally work. The problem is, when it comes to long-term weight loss, there are no quick fixes. The healthiest type of weight loss is slow weight loss. Diets have a low long-term success rate, whereas permanent lifestyle changes have a high one. Still, millions of Americans prefer to try their luck with weight loss supplements and other weight loss gimmicks. If you are considering taking this route, you should first consider the dangers of each type of supplement.

Ephedrine (e-fed’rin) a-methylamino-l phenyl-l propanol, is an alkaloid from the leaves of Ephededra equisetina, E. Sinica, and other species (family Gnetaceae). It is also called Ephedra & Ma Huang, the plant source for the Alkaloid ephedrine. It is indigenous to China, India, and parts of Southeast Asia. According to the FDA, products containing ephedrine extracts have causes side effects such as heart attacks, strokes, and even death. They are amphetamine-like compounds with powerful and potentially lethal stimulant effects on the central nervous system and the heart. These compounds act as stimulants that can cause rapid or irregular heartbeat (heart arrhythmias).

It dilates the bronchial muscles, contacts the nasal mucosa, raises the blood pressure and is a cardiac stimulant. Further, these compounds often cause psychological side effects such as depression, nervousness, insomnia, and rapid heart rate. When taken in combination with caffeine, ephedrine can over-stimulate the central nervous system, leading to potentially life-threatening results.

Many companies are now offering Ephedrine free supplements, but they still have some of the same side effects as appetite suppressants such as Dexatrim and Acutrim, which can produce symptoms such as increased heart rate, dizziness, high blood pressure, nausea, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, dry mouth, and diarrhea.

There are many prescription diet pills on the market as well including the popular and most commonly prescribed prescription appetite suppressant Phentermine. It is sold under the brand names Lonamine and Adipex. These supplements, like most others, suppress the appetite and stimulate the central nervous system. Keep in mind that each diet pill has its own set of potential side effects. Many, especially stimulant-based diet pills, are habit-forming and lend themselves to abuse. Abuse of these drugs may lead to psychological and/or physical dependence.

Some diet pills block fat and carbs or claim to boost the metabolism. The problem with suppressing the appetite is that appetite suppression leads to the consumption of fewer calories. Most dieters think you can lose weight long-term by severely restricting calories. Severe calorie restriction will actually have the opposite effect on your body. When you consume too few calories, your metabolism actually slows down. As your metabolism slows, the amount of weight you lose also slows down. Eating too much or eating too little may have devastating effects on the body as well. In order to lose weight safely and keep it off, you should consume a moderate amount of calories. This number is rarely less than 1,200 calories per day. Food provides the fuel your body (and metabolism) needs to function properly.

Fat Blockers

Fat blockers like Xenical have side effects as well including oily spotting, anal leakage, intestinal cramping, and gas with discharge, nausea, diarrhea, oily discharge, fecal urgency, loose and oily stools, fecal incontinence, frequent bowel movements, and inability to control bowels. Some may see this as more of an inconvenience than a risk, but it actually is a risk. The essential vitamins, A, D, E, and K are “fat soluble” vitamins. This means they are carried, along with fat, into the bloodstream. If you are limiting fat absorption, you restrict the absorption of these essential micronutrients. They play a major role in metabolism, immune function, and overall health.

Several studies have concluded that people using fat blockers only end up blocking 30 percent of the fat they take in. Controlled studies also prove that the difference in weight loss for fat blocker users and non-users is only 1-2 pounds.

Carb Blockers

Carb Blockers include Ultra Carb, Carbo Lock, Carb Away, Ultimate Carb Phaser 1000, Carb Cutter, and Carb Eliminator. They have some of the same effects as fat blockers. Carb blockers claim to reduce between 30-45 grams of carbs from entering the body. The FDA does not regulate the supplement industry, so the FDA has not studied many of the pills on the market. Manufacturers do not know if carb blockers work long-term or if they may have long-term effects. Short-term effects, however, include gastrointestinal distress, heartburn, excessive gas and diarrhea. There are no studies or testimonials to prove whether these supplements keep the weight off long-term.

For more information about weight loss programs, supplements, and how to lose weight the healthy way, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov.

A few years back when the FDA in all its ignorance banned ephedrine and all like products, many thousands of people including myself went into a state of depression.? The ephedrine, caffeine, aspirin stack was and still is by far the most effective fat burner ever.??

With ephedrine being pulled off the shelves manufacturers started puking product after product trying to claim their share of the fat burner market.? These products came with ads claiming all the benefits of ephedrine along with practically being able to cure cancer.? It was pretty disgusting actually.? And of course, literally all new fat burners fell on their face with only a few having a slight benefit.

Enter Hotrox Extreme.? This is the product I’ve been using for about 4 months and am very impressed.? If your looking for a fat burner that actually works?? And who’s not?? Extreme Hotrox is it.??